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Some thoughts on the light panel offered with the InSitu Systems vivariums: Most people find the light to be way over powered (too much lumen output); and it creates excessive heat, this comes from the dartfrog community and is largely accurate, but some context is needed.No matter how strong a light is, you will always find customers who want more lumens. I dont see this within the dartfrog community as much as I do in other reptile communities. Some hobbyists also want and need the heat.This is why dimmers are included. However, highly colored bromeliads need some intense output for...

I just took a 20 gallon hex display out of service, but the custom made lid is in excellent condition (clear, 1/4" polycarbonite) and the lighting is also in great condition. This works for the 20 gallon hex fish tanks you commonly see sold at PetSmart. For $200, this package deal comes with:-- Custom acrylic lid. Hinged, with 2 vents-- LED strip lighting-- 6' DC extension cord-- TC420 controller/timer (already programmed)-- 75 watt DC power supply (new)

I recently decided to convert an existing display to include a T5 UVB emitting bulb. The display contained Oophaga Histrionica "Diablo", which aren't nearly as red now as when I first got them, despite adding plenty of color enhancing supplements to their diet. The display is custom made by me and is 24x24x32.  Here's the before conversion images, with a light panel that used a combination of both LED strips and some large diode spots (10w). Note, the vent is in front before conversion. To properly position the new UVB emitting T5 bulb over the center of the tank, the...

Doing the same exact thing over and over again gets boring.  And so no mouse trap is ever good enough. My friend Brad Cooper suggested the use of "full spectrum" diodes to get a better PAR reading.  I intentionally don't measure PAR because the effect I'm going for is an overall light quality that is nice to look at, even if it doesn't  grow some plants as well as PAR optimized light sources.All of my experiments in light have shown that the best PAR readings tend to come from light sources that are not the best for human eyes.  I...

It's taken awhile to finally get this announcement out.  It's good news and bad news. I've been doing a lot of tinkering, as always.  The bad news is that I should have had these new design tweaks and features right from day one. The good news is that the large diodes (10w, 20w, 30w and 50w) are now mounted on a "plug and play" heatsink/fan unit, which makes the entire system removable should any issues arise.  It will literally take 10 seconds to replace a failing large diode, or even to go from a 20w unit to a 50w. This...